Detachment
by JasperSaysChillax
Summary: Sneh is a 14 year old girl in love with Jacob Black, but what will happen when her safe harbour starts to fall for newcomer Bella Swan and how will she cope when she discovers the Quileute secret?
1. Chapter 1: Oblivious

**Hey guys!! Basically, I have never written a fic before, so don't be too harsh on me! Please R+R and tell me what you think (criticisms are as welcome as compliments).**

**I would like to dedicate this story to the beautiful JigsawRose, my inspiration and encouragement, I love you so much!!**

**Anyway on with the fic...**

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Chapter 1: Oblivious

*~Sneh POV~*

I felt the blow and I bit down on my lip _hard_, swallowing the whimper which threatened to escape. I would not give him the satisfaction of hearing my pain.

I felt him hit me again, this time the force pushed me into the table, onto the floor. I heard a smash, like breaking glass. I felt a sharp rip across my calf. I quickly distanced my mind from my body, knowing that if I stayed i would not be able to stop the gasp of pain bubbling up in my throat.

I registered the slash of pain across my leg, the bruises i knew i would have in the morning, but i did not feel them. I had long ago learned the knack of dealing with physical pain: detachment. I looked at the scene in front of me as a third party observer. I noticed with a mild interest the crazed light in Kiowa's eyes, my brother's eyes, as he repeatedly kicked my crumpled body, still curled up on the floor.

He yelled something at me, but, being as detached as i was, i registered the sound not the meaning. When he starts shouting he generally stops hitting, being a man he can't multitask. He shouted again and aimed one last kick at my stomach and stormed out of the room. He shouted something else, but it didn't sound angry like before. Unexpectedly, i heard the door slam and i knew i was alone.

I relished in the sudden silence, the absence of movement that was in such contrast to whenever Kiowa was in the house.

I sighed, knowing that the right thing to do would be to re-enter my body, feel the pain, and do something about it. I probably wouldn't bleed to death if I left it a little longer, but I may pass out. Then I _would _bleed to death.

I uttered another small sigh which was quickly followed by a strangled gasp of pain as I rejoined by body. The blood gushing out of my leg made me feel slightly nauseous, and more than slightly irritated. Now I was going to have to clean up as well as find a bandage.

Being not particularly bothered about finding a bandage, I tore off my jumper and knotted it tightly around my lower leg, slowing the blood flow considerably. I stood up slowly, testing my weight on my injured leg. I could do nothing to stop the anguished bubble of sound that escaped my lips and I froze, cringing, waiting for the rebuff I was certain would follow my outburst. Until I remembered I was alone.

It was useless trying to walk, so I hopped, leaning heavily on the kitchen counter, grabbed a cloth, and expertly mopped up the floor pretending in my mind that the blood was paint so as not to upset my fragile stomach.

I hoisted myself onto the counter, being careful not to jostle my makeshift bandage, and looked at the phone. I could stay here alone, I thought to myself, or I could call Jacob.

My beautiful Jacob.

Jacob was better than alone, surely? But, I argued back, I would have to explain the gash and the bruises which I could feel beginning to show up on my face. I banished the little voice of reason in my head and dialled the number.

*~Jacob POV~*

I was retuning the engine of my rabbit in the garage, reminiscing about yesterday's beach party. Some of the teenagers from Forks had come down and I had finally met Isabella Swan, Charlie's daughter.

And damn was she HOT!

From the way she looked at me, her eyes smouldering beneath those long lashes, I had a feeling she thought I was damn hot too. Maybe I was getting ahead of myself, but she had asked if I came up to Forks much like she was hoping for a yes. And she clearly preferred me over that blonde git who seemed to think he owned her. Maybe she did like me, maybe...

My thought shower was interrupted by the shrill, impatient ringing of my phone. I glanced at the display quickly. Sneh? What did she want? She'd said she would be busy the whole weekend...

'Hey, Sneh. What's up? '

'_Hey, uh, Jake, can you come and pick me up?'_

'Sure thing. I thought you were busy, what happened? Did you get bailed on?'

'_Har har, always Mr Tactical aren't you. I wasn't going out with anyone for them to bail on me anyway. I'll tell you when you get here...I'm not interrupting anything am I?'_

Aw she was so cute. She was worried she was interrupting me when something was clearly wrong at her end. Didn't she know I'd ditch anyone to make sure my best friend was OK?

'Yes, you are, I just left a whole legion of my lovers in bed to answer this call.'

'_Oh your capacity for immature jokes never ceases to amaze me. I...'_

She stopped mid-sentence and let out a gasp that was quite obviously pained. My forehead crumpled in distress. I hated to see her in pain, no matter how trivial.

'You stay there, sweetie, I'm on my way.' I said, hanging up on her and starting the car in the same movement. It was only a ten minute walk from here to her house, but something was not right and I wanted to be there as fast as possible because she obviously needed me.

*~Sneh POV~*

I felt better after Jacob hung up on me. He would be here soon and everything would be alright. Jacob always made everything better.

The only problem was that I doubted if he would believe I fell over again. I whimpered a little as I lowered myself back onto the floor trying not to put any weight on my leg. I would have to arrange this quickly if I was to make it convincing. Jacob would be here in a few minutes.

With a sigh I got to work.

*~Jacob POV~*

I got to Sneh's house in record time, but I hesitated by the door. I could see it was unlocked, but I'd forgotten to ask her if Kiowa was in. He had something against me. Maybe it was just him being a protective older brother, but I doubt he would like it very much if I barged into his house, but it seemed stupid to knock. It was only Sneh for crying out loud! I suddenly remembered the sound of Sneh's pain and barged in anyway.

I gasped when I saw her, in a crumpled heap at the bottom of the stairs. I couldn't see where it was coming from, but blood was slowly pooling on the floor. She looked up at the sound of my entrance and grinned at me weakly.

'Clumsy old me, eh?' she whispered.

'God, Sneh! Are you OK? What can I do?'

'I'm fine, sorry for calling you, it's just Kiowa's out and I couldn't think of who else to call. Can you help me up? It's a bit uncomfortable down here.' She giggled. I looked at her strangely. How could she laugh about this? She must be in some serious pain.

'Where are you bleeding from honey? Do you think anything's broken? Did you hit your head? Do you feel dizzy? Did...oh my god what happened to your face?!'

'Oh my god what happened to your mom?' she retorted indignantly before flushing as she realised what she just said.

'Fucking car accident, that answer your question?' I snapped before I could stop myself. It had been god knows how many years, but my mom was still a touchy subject.

'Jake I'm sorry, I ... '

'S'OK, I know. Come on, let's get you up.'

*~Sneh POV~*

He noticed the bruises on my face, but, although I felt really bad about bringing his mom up, I distracted him sufficiently enough for him not to return to the subject. He left me sitting on the step, my leg held out awkwardly in front of me and a pack of frozen peas on my back where Kiowa had kicked me, as he went to find a bandage for my leg.

He had already swept up the glass that I had strategically placed around me, not mentioning the fact that there was already some broken glass in the bin.

I tried to hide the fluttery feeling I got as he examined me, trying to ascertain whether it was safe to move me. His rough hands trailing gently across my stomach, back and legs. My breath hitched when his hand reached my thigh, but he quickly removed it. I think I failed at hiding the pain at the rejection in my eyes.

He lifted me swiftly into his arms and I sighed quietly. He looked at me questioningly, but I shook my head. He let it go, but not without giving me a look. He knew I was hiding something from him, but I didn't know whether he suspected that Kiowa beats the fuck out of me practically every night, or that I was madly in love with him.

And what scared me even more than the thought of him knowing either of them, was that I didn't know which one would be more of a relief for me for him to know.

I snuggled myself deeper into his chest and he squeezed me gently. I sighed again, this time with contentment, and he lay me gently on the sofa.

'Jake I'm fine so can we go out? Or to your place? I really don't want to just sit here.'

'Sneh! I'm not taking you anywhere! As fine as you say you may be, I can see you're in pain and you are going to just sit there little missy.' Jake replied incredulously. His cheeks darkened as his stomach rumbled loudly, 'uh, I'm just going to go get some food from the fridge, be back in a tick.'

I laughed as he winked at me, then winced. Laughing was not a good idea. I could hear Jacob clattering around in the kitchen and braced myself before heaving my body up off the sofa. He deserved a good hot meal and, seeing as I had dragged him out of his house, therefore depriving him of sed meal, I owed it to him to cook it for him.

He protested at first, but eventually gave in to me cooking for him. He didn't know the first thing about cooking, and he couldn't resist my steak and chips. I made myself a quick salad as his steak was cooking and got him a coke. He looked at me disapprovingly as I came out with his plate and my own.

'Is that all you're eating? You know you're not fat so there's no need to go all anorexic on me is there now? No, so have some of my chips.'

'Jake, a salad is a perfectly normal meal, and are you saying you don't want my chips? Are you insulting my cooking skills as well as calling me anorexic? Are you? Because that would not be very nice, especially because I just fell down the stairs and then cooked you a lovely meal, and...'

'OK, OK have your salad.' He said, giving in. He would never insult my cooking skills.

I knew Kiowa wouldn't come home until the early hours of the morning, so I relaxed, snuggling into the side of the boy I loved.

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**Big love**

**JSC**


	2. Chapter 2: Losing Control

**Heyy guys!!**

**Sorry I've been so long updating, I had waaaaaaay too many essays to do!!**

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**Anyway, on with the story...**

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Chapter 2: Losing control

*SPOV*

Life went on as normal. Kiowa beat me up for no good reason, I suffered in silence, then went to have fun with Jake. Life was how it always had been, but something was different. Something was _wrong_.

I looked back, shocked to see that I had cried myself to sleep every night this week. Something was _hurting _me and I couldn't figure out what it was. Well, Kiowa, obviously, but he wasn't the problem. He hurt me physically like he always had done. This pain was new, different. Deep inside I longed for...my heart longed for... What did it long for? Jacob?

Abruptly I was furious. How dare he? How dare that stupid, obnoxious, moronic...funny, charming, beautiful Jacob? How dare _he _exert any control over _me_? He had always had the capacity to hurt me, but he hadn't. He was a big strong sixteen year old boy, and I was a petite fourteen year old girl.

And he was incredibly buff. And when I say incredibly, I mean INCREDIBLY. It was not normal for someone so young to have so much muscle. I _told _him steroids were for insecure people who thought they were too skinny, and they were bad for your health, but I'm not entirely convinced he had listened...

Anyway, the more sensible part of my mind said, interrupting my mental ogling of Jacob shirtless, he never had hurt me, so why would he start now? This brought back memories... I'd vowed to myself a long time ago never to put myself at the mercy of or under the power of _anyone_, especially a man. Not after what happened last time...

Once more, my mind stopped that train of thought, shying away from the unnecessary pain of those memories. Jacob, I thought to myself, focus on Jacob. That was what I always did. When I needed a distraction from anything, be it Kiowa, or the inside of my own head, Jacob was where my mind went without even thinking about it. He made everything better. He was my safe harbour, but now even thinking about him hurt me.

I sighed. This was ridiculous. How had I managed to get myself into this situation... Once again I stopped that thought before it could say 'again'.

I was in Jake's power, completely and utterly. Kiowa thought he owned me, dominated me, but he could only hurt my body. Jake could break my heart.

*JPOV*

Bella, poor Bella. She hardly looked human. I'd never seen anyone so messed up by anything. Ever. Except maybe Sneh, that night...

Poor girl. How could she be _so _upset by that Cullen bastard leaving her? He was just a boyfriend for god's sake. Billy's just a superstitious old man, but he was seriously worried about her that night she got lost in the woods. He kept saying 'he's done something to her'. And there was no doubt he meant Cullen. Billy was asking just this morning why Sneh hadn't been around for a while...

Bella was beautiful. Pure gold she was. That git didn't know what he'd had. I bet that in a few weeks, when he's swallowed that pride, he'll be begging her to take him back. But she wouldn't, would she? She had me now, didn't she. She wouldn't want him when she had me.

But what about Sneh? She already spends too much time alone, she doesn't have any other friends. I've already spent too little time with her this week because I've been working on the bikes with my Bella.

I ground my teeth with frustration. She'd probably be fine, but I couldn't stop worrying about her. Not after that night. It had been almost a month now, but that image of her crumpled body at the bottom of the stairs kept popping into my head, like an annoying alarm clock timed to every thirty seconds.

The image of her face bruised and swollen, but obviously not from falling down the stairs. The broken glass in the bin, like she had already cleared up the majority of the broken vase. The slash on her leg oozing more blood than I would've thought possible. Something was wrong. Very wrong. And I had to fix it. I owed that to my best friend at least.

*SPOV*

The claustrophobic atmosphere in the house suffocated me to the extent that I had to walk down to the beach. The plan was to wander aimlessly until I was tired enough to go home, but my leg was already bothering me by the time I reached the array of rainbow hued pebbles strewn across the shore.

I hadn't brought a coat, and the wind as cold enough to warrant a fire, but I could not bring myself to move. I would have to go back up to where the forest ended to find any wood dry enough to burn, and I had no matches anyhow.

I sat on the nearest driftwood tree, relieved to not have to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other so I could distance my mind from the pain in my leg, which was getting worse by the minute.

The only problem with my plan was that if my mind was free from the pain, it would begin to contemplate things that I had promised myself to stop dwelling on.

With a sigh, I brought myself back down to earth and stared at the tree beneath me. It was bone white, and looked like a gnarled hand, with too many fingers, all reaching out to grab you. I shuddered. I focused with more detail on the rough texture of the bark beneath my hands. I would think of nothing but the dampness of the air on my face, I told myself sternly, and the wind in my hair.

I distracted myself from more unpleasant topics by contemplating what to do with my hair. It was glossy black, like the rest of the Quileutes, but in the rare event of a sunny day, you could see bits of russet brown in it. The only real reason my hair was unique was that in all the fourteen years of my life, I had never cut it. It had just recently grown past the backs of my knees, and I was beginning to wonder if I should cut it. In my hurry to get out of the house, I had forgotten to tie it up, so the wind was playing havoc with it, wrapping tendrils of it around various parts of my body. A piece of it snagged on a branch, pulling sharply. I winced and unhooked it gently, returning my attention to the tree.

This tree wasn't _our _tree. _Our _tree was further down the familiar crescent of first beach. _Our _tree was beautiful, like him. It resembled a many limbed spider, but a benign one. The branches always seemed to be in the right place, whether you wanted to climb on them, or just sit. Countless afternoons we had spent there, chatting, laughing, or just looking. The silences between us were never awkward, they were friendly. There was always a reason for our silences. I was usually rendered speechless by the beauty of his eyes...

He should be coming soon. Subconsciously, my body had decided the destination of my supposingly aimless wanderings without consulting the conscious part of my brain. Sundays were our beach days, and if I wasn't at his house by ten, he would come to the beach and wait for me. Standard procedure in the event of an emergency. That was our little joke. I giggled quietly, and the sound hurt in strange ways.

Judging by the positioning of the few rays of sunlight which filtered through the everlasting clouds, I decided it was close to eleven. Where could he be? Surely he knew I was waiting for him. What else would I do? What else could he be doing to leave me here alone?

I wasn't even sure if I wanted to see him. I wasn't sure if I could control myself. I didn't want to be near him if I couldn't stop myself from yelling at him for things which were completely out of his control. There it was again: control.

How could he have control over me, when I wasn't even sure if I had control over myself?

**Sorry if that was really short...the chapters will get longer and updates more frequent if you review people, so you know what to do!!**

**Please do tell me if there are any mistakes, I would really like to have a as close to perfect fic as possible, so criticisms are welcome!!**

**big love to you all**

**JSC**

**xx**


	3. Chapter 3: Misconceptions

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**Due to request, I have stopped centralising my text!!!! (lol)**

…**=D**

Chapter 3: Misconceptions

I jumped as I heard a low voice behind me.

"Has Kiowa given you any more trouble?"

I glared frostily at the ground, refusing to look up at them.

"No," I replied, with all the ice I could muster in my voice. I knew without turning around that it was Sam Uley, and, although they hadn't made a sound, I knew he would be flanked by his 'followers', Paul and Jared.

And I knew that it was Paul who sniggered at my supposedly unimpressive anger. I knew how they would be standing, motionless, emotionless. Their faces blank and cold, their eyes emanating almost as much hostility as mine would be if I could bring myself to look at them.

I felt their silent retreat rather than heard it, and I knew how they would be walking. Sam ahead, with the other two on either side of him. They would be perfectly synchronised, like robots.

I released the tension in my tightly clenched fists, loosening my fingers slowly. Who did they think they were to intrude on my life? Just because they had caught Kiowa once, it doesn't mean they had to keep checking up on me. I could deal with it myself, I wasn't a baby.

And there was something distinctly creepy about them, like they were all linked, like they were all part of the same organism. I hated the way they looked at my Jacob. And Quil and Embry. They looked at them as if to say 'You're next'. I hated everyone who upset my Jacob.

That brought my mind back to wondering where Jacob was. I glared up at the sky. The sun seemed to have moved all the way across to the other side of it.

Rationally, I knew I should give up on him and go home, but my mind rejected the idea that he had stood me up. I was about to get up, when I heard two pairs of footsteps trying to sneak across the pebbles. At least it wasn't Sam and his gang. I wouldn't have heard them if it was. I looked up, daring to hope it might be...

I replaced my automatic grimace of disappointment with a grin as I saw Quil and Embry making their way towards me.

"That was such a fail of trying to sneak up on me, guys, I heard you from miles away."

They frowned in mock disappointment.

"Aw, and I've been practising my sneaking skills especially for you, and you just crush me like that?" said Quil, pretending to cry into Embry's shoulder.

"That's cold, girl, real cold." Added Embry, but keeping a poker face was never his forte, so, inevitably, he cracked up. Quil joined in raucously, but they both trailed off awkwardly when they realised I hadn't joined in. I threw them an approximation of a smile, but I don't think I got it right, because they shared a meaningful look before coming to sit on either side of me on my makeshift bench.

"S'up Sneh?" asked Embry, tentatively laying a hand on my shoulder. I just shook my head, not sure if I could trust my voice not to crack, and leaned further into Embry's hand. He pulled me round for a full-scale hug and I could feel him mouthing something to Quil.

"Don't..." he warned, but Quil interrupted him.

"Jake says he's sorry for ditching you by the way. He was too eager to spend the day with his _new girlfriend, _the gorgeous Bella Swan_._"

I buried my face deeper into Embry's well defined chest, but I couldn't stop the stifled sob that came out of my mouth.

"Well done, genius," he said acerbically as he constricted his arms tighter around my waist, crushing me to him. He buried his face in my hair.

"Sorry," he murmured softly.

I was too scared to ask the vital question, 'was it official?', but Embry, being as sensitive as he was, knew what was on my mind.

"It's nothing official…"

"Yet," added Quil, earning another glare from Embry.

"I think she just sees him as a friend…" he continued cautiously.

"But he's head over heels for her, honey. She is smokin' hot!!! You don't stand a chance. Give up on him, he's a lost cause."

I lifted my head slowly, and Embry shot Quil a worried glance.

"There's something irresistible about a lost cause," I said icily, before shrugging out of Embry's grasp. I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, tossed my hair at Quil, and headed for the tree line. Embry called my name a few times, but I ignored him.

It was difficult playing the ice queen when all I wanted was to run back to the comfort of Embry's arms. A very small part of my mind was pleased by my overly dramatic exit, and that Quil had received a well deserved slap in the face from my ridiculously long hair. I decided there and then not to cut my hair; it definitely came in useful as a weapon.

Inevitably the pain which was occupying the conceivably larger part of my mind came to my attention. Quil's words buzzed around in my head and, like bees, sometimes they stung. No, not bees, bees died after one sting, but the same words stung me again and again. Not bees then, hornets. I didn't have ants in my pants; I had hornets in my head…

Jacob. How could he possibly be 'head over heels' for someone he'd only just met? How could he possibly be 'head over heels' for someone who wasn't me? We'd been best friends literally since the day I was born and a two year old Jacob had proclaimed that I was 'his pretty baby'. I'd always had an admiration and a platonic love for him, but as we got older, that had morphed into something less innocent. It had always been my unspoken assumption that we would end up together, and that he loved me too, and he was just waiting for the right moment to tell me. It seemed that, to him, I was just a little sister, and not even worth considering as girlfriend material.

I used to dream of a white wedding, with me in a gorgeous wedding gown, but, unlike other girls who had similar dreams with blank faced grooms or good looking actors waiting for them at the end of the aisle, my groom was always Jacob. It had been undoubtable in my mind that this would be the outcome of our lifelong friendship, but maybe I was wrong.

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**JSC**

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	4. Chapter 4: Familiarity

**Heyaa!!! Sorry, I know it's been a week since my last update, but I've been busy! Thank you soo much to En-En-Chan for her reviews and to 'Sanjay' (you know who you are) for her incredible support!!!**

JPOV

I was bored. I'd spent the whole day with Bella, but she had to go home and cook for Charlie. She'd given Billy a ride up to watch the game at her house. I would've gone too, but Billy had told me I had to finish my homework. My grades had been slipping due to the excessive amount of time I had been spending with Bella and our bikes. When I have a project I get kind of obsessive. I knew I should do my homework, or even go and work on the bikes, but I really couldn't be assed. And, what was worse, I was hungry. I could cook, but once more with the CBA. My cooking abilities weren't something to write home about, and I wasn't really in the mood for scrambled eggs anyway. I picked up the phone. I had to call Sneh; there wasn't any other option unless I wanted to die from a mixture of boredom and starvation. I hoped she wasn't too mad at me for not telling her I couldn't make it on the beach yesterday. Here goes nothing, I thought to myself as I dialled her number.

SPOV

The phone rang, and I ran downstairs to get it. I knew Kiowa wouldn't pick it up, but he would hit me if let it ring too long because it would be 'giving him a headache' or some such crap. I yanked it off the hook and glanced at the caller ID. I stopped short. How could he have the guts to call me now after not so much of a word yesterday?

"Pick up the fucking phone, bitch!"

I hurriedly pressed the green button and put the phone to my ear.

"What do you want now?" I hissed. There was a shocked splutter from the other end of the line. He had obviously forgotten that he ditched me yesterday. Or maybe he thought I wouldn't be pissed. Well he had something coming. "I'm hanging up in five seconds if you don't start apologising. One...Two..."

"OK, OK, I'm sorry, Sneh. I was really busy. Billy wouldn't let me leave the house cos I had loads of homework. S'not my fault. Forgive me?" he pleaded.

I could imagine the puppy dog eyes he would be putting on if we were having this conversation face to face, and I couldn't resist.

"Fine." I said shortly, "What did you call for?" He laughed embarrassedly.

"Well...I was wondering if you could do me a favour." Did he honestly think I would do him a favour after he stood me up? Yes, I answered my own question, yes he did. He paused, waiting for my response, but when I didn't give him any, he continued in a rush.

"Basics, Billy went to Charlie's, and I need feeding, so I was gonna ask you to come over, but seeing as you're so pissed, I doubt you would want to now. I'll just sit here and starve, I don't mind." Damned reverse psychology.

"I'm on my way now," I said resignedly. I was pathetic. I couldn't resist him anything.

"No, no, don't worry about little old me. I don't really need food. Don't do anything you don't want to do." He teased.

"God forbid I do anything I don't want to do," I muttered, before hanging up and getting my jacket. I knew Kiowa would give me hell for not cooking him dinner, but I would prefer him to starve than Jacob, and at least I got to spend the evening with him. I was about to leave when I saw a box sitting on the kitchen counter. It was probably from one of Kiowa's many girlfriends. I picked it up and looked at it, pondering. I knew it was stupid and I shouldn't, but it was just too tempting. I knew I was just making myself more vulnerable to a painful rejection, but it couldn't hurt too much to give it a try...could it?

JPOV

I knew she would be pissed, but that pissed? I must have really upset her. It seems I was forgiven though, for now. She'd probably yell at me when she got here. Ah well. At least I'd get a decent meal. I let my mind wander back over my day with Bella. She was officially my Valentine! Poor love, she was so out of it that she didn't even know the date. I had seen the hesitation in her eyes. She was definitely still messed up over that Cullen, but she had accepted. That meant something, right? It meant she wanted to be my Valentine. I knew she was still capable of loving, and I knew she just needed time to heal. I would give her as much time as she needed. I'd wait forever and a day for her. My stomach growled angrily, interrupting my thought shower. Now where the fuck was Sneh...

The sound of the doorbell made me jump. I sprinted to get it, hoping it would be Sneh, even though, logically, it couldn't be. We never rang the bell at each other's houses; we just walked right in. I yanked the door open, and there she was. She looked kinda cute in her jeggings and gray knit sweater. It wasn't quite long enough to be called a dress, but it showed off the shape of her legs. It surprised me to see how wide her hips were. I'd always thought of her as a little girl, but it seemed she was growing up into a young woman. I stopped that thought right there and tore my eyes away from her legs and straight to her face before I could notice how _other _parts of her were 'maturing'. That would just be wrong. I felt kinda perverted even looking at her like that. She was practically my little sister for God's sake. It was only then that I noticed the expression on her face. It wasn't pissed like I expected. It was sorta...hopeful.

"Come in, honey, it's pouring out there," I said quickly, to hide my confusion. I started to walk back into the living room, but I stopped when I realised she wasn't following.

"Jake," she said. Her voice shook, "I've got something for you."

SPOV

I offered him the pink, heart-shaped box of candy, scrutinising his face for his reaction. I saw a flicker of emotion flash across it, screwing up his eyebrows for a second, but before I could place it, it was gone, replaced with artificial excitement.

"Candy!" he yelled, "For me? Oh you shouldn't have!" he grabbed the box, ripped it open and shoved two into his mouth immediately, before motioning with his hand for me to sit down. A shudder of disappointment ran through me. The emotion I had seen, it hadn't looked like happiness. It looked like confusion, sadness, maybe even anger. Before I could fall to pieces entirely, Jake swallowed his mouthful of chocolate and announced the extent of his hunger, before shoving more candy in his mouth.

"Honestly," I said, reprovingly, "D'ya have to be so uncouth?" Jake smiled through his full mouth, and continued to concentrate on getting the food down his throat so he could reply.

"Yep, that's me. Take me or leave me!"

"I'll take you."I said with a little too much intensity that was required under the present circumstances. I ran to the kitchen before my blush could betray the double meaning behind my words.

"Keep it simple, yeah? I'm bloody starving."

"Yeah, I know, you'll die if you don't get some food in you soon." He chuckled and I heard the TV switch on. I concentrated on the fried chicken I was making. My Valentine's Day present had been an epic fail. And it _did_ hurt. It hurt more than I ever imagined it would. It wasn't like he hadn't noticed the _pink, heart shaped _box, but he ignored the connotations of it completely. I'd seen the flash of intuition in his eyes. He'd guessed my intentions, and had rejected me in the kindest way he could. He was trying to be nice, but frankly he wasn't interested in me at all. I was just a free dinner ticket to him. The lazy git called me to come and cook for him. He hadn't even said 'come and spend some time with me', no, he just wanted dinner. I growled unimpressively under my breath. As soon as I was done with the chicken, I was going to leave. Jacob's voice snapped me out of my reverie.

"Oi, Sneh?"

"Mmmm?"

"Why'd you ring the doorbell when you came? I know you've got the key."

"To make you get off your fat arse and open it, lazy git."

"Aw, that's harsh. I'm not _that_ lazy, am I?"

"Prove it. Come here and I'll teach you how to fry chicken."

"Nah…" he laughed, and went back to watching reruns of Monster Garage. I shook my head, laughing as I tossed the chicken out of the pan and onto a pile of waiting paper towels. I scooped them onto a plate, trudged into the living room, and put it on Jake's lap.

"Hey!" he said indignantly, "you can't put the food there; that's your spot!" he lifted the plate and patted his legs. Unthinkingly, I automatically responded to his invitation, unceremoniously plonking myself onto his laps. I snuggled into his bare chest and sighed contentedly. He wrapped one arm firmly around my waist, the other dipping in and out of the plate of chicken which was now balancing precariously on my lap.

"Jake…" I started, but he had started to speak at the same time, so I stopped to let him go first.

"Ladies first," he said graciously, in a bad English accent.

"I was gonna ask if I can stay over here tonight. Kiowa's going to one of his girlfriend's houses, and I don't want to be alone."

"Alone, on Valentine's Day? Well ain't that a tragedy. Are you sure you haven't got a legion of lovers that you're trying to avoid waiting for you at home?" he teased, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Yes, Jacob, I have got a legion of lovers in my bed, but I had to leave them to come and cook for you!" I said sarcastically, while slapping his arm.

"You did all that for me? Well of course you can stay here!"

"But I'm not sleeping in Billy's room. Remember last time he was 'staying at Charlie's house' and he came back to find me in his bed? I literally died of embarrassment." Jake laughed, but looked down, abashed when he caught the glare I gave him.

"OK, you can sleep with me."

JPOV

I cringed. I hoped she wouldn't take that too literally. What a great choice of words. Way to go with 'not encouraging her'. She could sleep with me? Whoa, that was seriously messed up.

"Hey Jake?" I quickly dispersed the disturbing images that were suddenly flooding my mind.

"Do we have to watch this? We've seen this episode sooo many times."

"Sure, change it. I don't mind. Just don't put it on some crappy girly sitcom." I loathed those programmes. 'Vampire Diaries' was by far the worst. I mean, how unrealistic can you get?

"Do we have to watch TV? Can we just talk instead?"

"Sure thing honey, go ahead. Talk." I had a feeling she was going to have a go at me for yesterday.

"So, what did you do yesterday?" she asked, her voice sugar coated and deadly. I was right.

"Not much really. I … er… recently acquired some old bikes that need fixing up. I was mostly working on them."

"Alone?" her eyes were daring me to lie to her.

"No…"

"With…?" she encouraged

"Quil and Embry," I lied quickly. She didn't need to know about Bella.

"Oh, but they came and found me on the beach, and they happened to let slip that you were with Charlie's daughter. If you said you weren't though, maybe I misheard. My bad." Well crap. She already knew about Bella.

"OK, OK, fine. I was with Bella. She bought some messed up bikes that she wanted me to fix. She said I could have one when I'm done. How could I resist a free Harley Sprint?! I'm sorry; I didn't mean to leave you alone. Forgive me?" I did the puppy dog eyes I knew she couldn't resist. I could see her trying to stay mad; and failing miserably.

"You could've at least called me." She sniffed, trying to worm her way free of my arms. Apparently I didn't deserve to hold her any more. Well I wasn't having that. I refused to let go and, try as she might, there was nothing she could do about it.

"Jacob Black, you get your filthy paws off me right now!" she threatened, her voice rising to a shriek.

"Aw, you know you don't mean that," I teased, crushing her closer to my chest.

SPOV

I knew I was supposed to be mad at Jake, but here I was, in his arms. He was holding me; pulling me tight against him. I couldn't find in me the ability t be angry with him. I turned my head slightly and pressed my lips against his bare shoulder. He squeezed my waist and whispered delightedly into my ear,

"Hopefully that means I'm forgiven." My only reply was to kiss him again. With us, forgiveness was always accompanied by a kiss. We never questioned it. That was just how it had always had been. We kissed and made up. Although I had kissed him a countless number of times, I couldn't help but feel tingles in my lips where they had touched him.

"Seeing as I'm forgiven, can we watch a film?" he asked hopefully.

"Sure," why not? "Whaddaya wanna watch?"

"I've got a surprise for you," he grinned, loosening his grip on me. He slid me gently off his lap and onto the sofa. I whimpered slightly at the sudden gust of cold air that hit me, but I was too intrigued by his 'surprise' to complain. He proceeded to put a disc into the DVD player, hiding the case expertly from view, so I had no clue what it was. A slow smile spread across my face as the menu came up on screen. The familiar music filled the room as Jake turned round to see my reaction. I knew I was grinning like an idiot, but I couldn't stop myself. Last time we had watched a film together, we had watched Lord of the Rings and I had been enchanted from beginning to end. And yes, I cried when various people died. Seeing as watching films at home was forbidden, I hadn't had the chance to watch the second one.

"So, what do you think?" he asked expectantly.

"Ah! I love you so much! Thank you, thank you, thank you! You are undoubtedly the most wonderful and talented person I know! Come here you beautiful boy!"I yelled, not caring if I sounded like the love struck teenager I knew I was. He grinned, exultant, and came and sat by me on the sofa. I threw myself at him, squeezing him as tightly as was humanly possible.

"Whoa, easy girl," he smirked, "Being a pretty good looking guy I am quite experienced with pretty girls throwing themselves at me, but I expected better from you!"

I pulled away from him, glaring.

"You are _so_ up yourself," I hissed, before leaning back on the arm of the sofa and crossing my legs so he couldn't grab me again. Soon enough I was so lost in the magic of the film that I jumped violently when Jacob lay his head in my crossed legs. He chuckled, and grabbed my hands, laying them against his chest and holding them there. I sincerely tried to watch the film, but the beating of Jacob's heart and the subtle movements of his toned pecs beneath my hands as he breathed proved too much of a distraction. I contented myself with ogling his chest, something I rarely got to do in fear of his always wary eyes catching me. His eyelids began to droop as I took in the perfectly formed eight pack that was his abs, which showed even when he was totally relaxed. His skin was so pretty. Like russet coloured silk. It made me jealous. Sure, I was Quileute too, but my skin was more beige than russet. I could pass for a tanned white girl. And not even _that _tanned. His head was heavy, and I could feel my legs going to sleep under me, but I knew I wouldn't be able to shift his gargantuan weight, and I didn't have the heart to wake him. I buried my face in his silky black hair and inhaled his deliciously musky and distinctly male scent. I was just slipping into the beginnings of sleep when Jake jerked awake.

"Whoa, Sneh? What time is it?" he asked, disorientated.

"S'only half twelve," I murmured sleepily. I gasped as he lifted his head of my legs and I felt the blood rushing back into them.

"Let's get to bed, honey. Come on, up you get." He said softly, while half lifting me awkwardly off the sofa.

"You'll have to carry me. I can't move my legs; you're so damn heavy." He smiled apologetically and swung me easily into his arms. Before I had a chance to really get comfortable, he dumped me on the bed.

"Have you got clothes to sleep in?" he asked, removing his sweats. I was rendered momentarily speechless by the sight of him in nothing but pale grey, tight fitting boxers.

"Um…" I fumbled, trying to remember the question. "Oh, er… no. I'll just wear one of your T-shirts." He rolled his eyes at my presumptiveness, but he tossed me a brown shirt from his closet. I laughed out loud when I saw the slogan: '_Quileute and Proud_'. He just shrugged and smiled. I quickly stripped off my sweater and tank top until I was just in my bra and leggings. Luckily I had a nice bra on today; black and lacy with a pink bow in the middle. I was examining the patterns the lace made on my skin, when Jacob looked up and noticed my lack of clothing. I glanced at him expectantly to find him speechlessly staring at my chest. I cleared my throat loudly.

"Do you mind?" I asked pointedly.

"Whoa, girl, put them away!" he yelled, a little too late, and pretended to shield his eyes and stumble around as if he had been blinded. I rolled my eyes at his antics, and proceeded to pull his shirt over my head, but inside, I was thrilling. He had looked at me! And in an obviously non-platonic way. And I recognised the look in his eyes. He had looked at my legs in the same way when he opened the door for me. I looked at him speculatively. He was still covering his eyes.

"You can look at me now; I'm decent."

"Sure?"

"Completely and utterly."

As soon as he opened his eyes, I began to slide off my leggings. I had the satisfaction of watching his eyes popping out of their sockets before he controlled his expression. I smiled inwardly. Although his shirt was ridiculously large on me, it was short enough to be considered slutty if worn in public without tights or leggings. Perfect. Another idea came to me in a flash of inspiration. I reached under my top and behind my back in a weak attempt to undo my bra.

"Jake," I whined, "I can't undo my bra strap!"

"What d'you want me to do about it?" I looked at him meaningfully and went to stand in front of him with my back facing him. He hesitated.

"I know you don't have any experience with bras, honey, but it's not that difficult," I soothed.

"I've had plenty of experience with bras, I'll have you know." He said, overly defensively.

"Sure, sweetie. You probably need to wear one, looking at the size of those moobs."

"Actually their pecs, and…"

"OK, whatever, just undo it, will you?" I interrupted impatiently. I felt his hands tremble as they reached for the hem of my shirt and as they travelled slowly up my back. His inexperience showed when he fumbled a bit with the hook, but too soon his hands left my body. I sighed softly, but controlled the wistfulness of my expression before I turned around.

"Thank you sweetheart," I sang, stretching up on tiptoes to peck him on the cheek. He shook his head, as if to dispel an unwanted thought, then yawned hugely. He got into bed, wordlessly dragging me with him. It was luck I was so petite because he took up most of the space in the double bed. Since I was likely to get crushed if I slept anywhere else, I curled up on his chest and waited for sleep to find me. I had been just about to fall asleep when Jacob had woken me, but now sleep was avoiding me like the plague. I felt wide awake and was boiling in the loose circle of Jake's arms. I heaved at them, but they wouldn't budge, so I wriggled down and out of his grip. It was still too hot in the room. I cracked open the window, welcoming the cool, briny breeze which caressed my face gently. I glanced at the clock, ten past one. Plenty of time for a stroll. I shoved against the stiff window frame until the gap was wide enough for me to slip out of.

I wandered aimlessly through the sleeping reservation, but inevitably, I ended up on the beach again. I stared out at the endless grey sea and dark sky. Suddenly feeling agoraphobic, I rushed for the cover of the trees, hoping to find comfort in the familiar undergrowth. I walked deeper into the forest, the pressing gloom of the trees more welcoming than the emptiness of the beach. I had no fear of getting lost. All I had to do was climb a tree and stick my head above the canopy to get my bearings. I walked a while longer, enjoying the relative silence, broken only by the sound of my bare feet squishing the damp earth.

"Sneh!" the deep voice shattered my silence and sent the birds screeching from their roosts.

"Are you OK? Why are you here? What happened?" turned around, all but trembling with rage.

"Get out of my life." I spat, coldly and distinctly, only just managing to get the words out through my tightly clenched teeth.

"Jeez, we're just trying to help," muttered Jared belligerently.

"Have you been hurt?" persisted Sam.

"Why the fuck would it matter to you? I'm just taking a walk anyway."

"You honestly expect us to believe that?" Paul guffawed. I whipped round, the wind chaotic in my hair, and gave Paul the iciest look I could manage.

"Fuck off."

"Why should I? Ungrateful little whore. We're wasting our lives trying to help you out, and you tell us to fuck off? …"

"Paul, cool it." Said Sam, authoritatively.

"God, Paul, chillax. Overreaction much?" said Jared, rolling his eyes.

"Talking like a girl much?" I added under my breath, but nobody heard. Everyone was watching Paul as another violent shudder ripped through his body.

"Whoa, WTF?!" I yelled as the boy in front of me exploded into a huge silver-grey wolf with his teeth bared, growling distinctly in my direction.

**I'll update ASAP!!!**

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	5. Chapter 5: Panic

**Heyy! ****ッ**

**Sorry if this is ridiculously late, but...**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Twilight. The gorgeous Stephenie Meyer does!**

**Also... some people have asked, so here is the answer... 'Sneh' is pronounced 'Snay', kinda like 'snake', but without the 'k'. =P**

**THANKYOUSOMUCH to 'Taylor1991' 'Draenei' 'Suicide's Child' and 'Reliaxx' for beautiful reviews and helpful **_**constructive**_** criticism!**

**Thanks again to all the beauties at NLCS (especially Sanjay!x) who are reading and liking my fic (and even those who don't like it...at least you're reading it!) and for you I am allowing anonymous reviews so you can review me!**

SPOV

"Hey, she's coming round!"

"Finally!"

"Give her some space. I'm sure she doesn't want to be crowded by _us_."

I heard the voices, the sounds, but I couldn't comprehend the meaning behind them. I was surprised to find that I was lying on an unfamiliar bed. The ceiling was a happy yellow. I was going to ask where I was, but I couldn't seem to find my mouth. I frowned. I knew there was a reason for me to be here, but I couldn't _remember_. I tugged at the corners of my brain, trying to find the elusive 'something', but while I was doing so, I regained control over my mouth.

"Where..." I started, sitting up slowly so as not to further disrupt my already questionable balance. I trailed off as I caught three dark pairs of eyes watching me apprehensively. I heard the quick _gasp gasp gasp _of air dragging through my lips, but I couldn't stop it. It looked like the walls were shaking, but I knew it was my own trembling which caused the illusion. I tried to shut my eyes, to forget, but they were stuck wide open, frozen in a mask of shock and horror. I could feel the tears leaking from them and dripping off my chin, but I wasn't sure exactly what emotion they were trying to convey.

"That's my cue. I'll take it from here, boys. You go eat, there're some cookies in the kitchen," a melodious voice suggested. I panicked, looking around wildly until I located the source of the voice. Emily Young. I wouldn't call her a friend, but she was an acquaintance of mine. I hadn't really spoken to her since she stole Sam from my best girlfriend, Leah. It broke her heart, breaking mine in the process. Personally I didn't hold a grudge against Emily; I thought it was Sam's fault for being a fickle git, but Leah wouldn't hear a bad word said about Sam, even though he hurt her the way he did.

Emily smiled at me tentatively as my breathing began to slow and the tears stopped pouring off my face as soon as the boys left the room.

"Hey. How're you holding up?" she asked, softly.

"Um...I don't really know," I replied, on the verge of tears again and sighing shakily to try and stop the return of the hyperventilation.

"I know exactly what you need. Stay here, I'll be right back," sang Emily, brightly. I was too confused and exhausted, not to mention traumatised, to protest, so I lay back, closed my eyes, and tried very hard not to think. I could feel myself falling apart at the seams, but before I could pull myself together again, Emily was back with two tubs of ice cream.

"There we go. That'll make you feel better! I hope you don't mind cookie dough, it's the only one I've got." I nodded at her, my mouth already full of ice cream. "All a girl needs when she's upset is a good cry and some Ben & Jerry's." I nodded again, more enthusiastically this time. I shovelled more of the lifesaver into my mouth, past caring I wasn't _supposed_ to be eating a lot. A few spoons later and I was already feeling better. I looked into Emily's eyes, her scars bringing more tears to my own. She looked back at me, expectantly.

"I don't even know what questions to ask," I choked out. Emily nodded sympathetically and a sad smile spread across one half of her face.

"OK," she bargained, "You eat, I talk."

By the time the first weak rays of sunlight were breaking through the clouds, I had finished the entire tub of ice cream and felt at least five stone heavier. More importantly (or slightly less importantly if you looked at it from my vanity's point of view) I _understood_. It seemed obvious now I knew. I'd known all along, as had all the Quileutes, but only the elders understood the truth behind the legends. None of us would ever have thought to apply the legends of our ancestors to a bunch of 'hall monitors gone bad' as Jake had recently started calling them.

Crap, Jacob. He would be waking up in a few hours and I should probably try to get some sleep or he'd suspect something if I was walking around like the living dead. I opened my mouth to speak, but I paused, reluctant to break the thoughtful silence. Emily looked up at me, snapping out of a reverie of her own thoughts, a question in her eyes. I grinned guiltily.

"Er…I have to go. I was staying at Jake's and he'll probably be awake soon…"

"Sure, I'll have Sam drop you. Do you want a jacket? You're not wearing much!" she giggled.

"Naw, it's cool. And I don't mind the walk." She nodded understandingly and stood up to show me out.

"You can't tell anyone, right? Not even Jake." My eyes widened at the concept of 'them' and Jake in the same sentence.

"Why…why do they look at him funny?" I whispered, although I was sure I already knew the answer. She looked at me apprehensively, apologies clear in her eyes. That was enough to confirm my suspicions. I ran out of the house, no longer able to bear being under the same roof as 'them'. 'They' were going to take away my Jacob. 'They' were going to make him like 'them'. Ruin his life.

I stopped running abruptly. I had to pull myself together before I got to Jake's house. He couldn't see me like this. I looked down at my soaked body. I was trembling from the cold, and, although I hadn't noticed the light drizzle, it had soaked my top right through. I bit my lip to try and stop my teeth chattering, but it was no use. I would have to go back to the house and, exceptionally quietly, shower and dry off. I started jogging again, now desperate to get into the warm. I scrambled back through the window, and straight into Jacob's arms.

JPOV (an hour earlier)

I woke with a start, shocked to find my arms empty. I looked around, disorientated by the sudden darkness. It had been so bright, just a moment ago. And Bella had fallen asleep in my arms after we had…

No. that was just a dream, wasn't it? I was sure _somebody_ had been in my arms. Who… oh, Sneh. She'd stayed over after cooking for me. I remembered now, but I couldn't help but to be crushed by the sudden realisation that Bella was just a dream. Wait, Sneh. Where was she? My easily distracted, half asleep mind skittered away from the bliss of the dream. Sneh…um… I honestly couldn't remember if she'd told me she had to leave early. What time was it anyway? I glanced around blearily until I found the fluorescent green numbers on my alarm clock. 5:23? Wherever she had to be, she wouldn't have gone this early. A sudden gust of cool, damp air made me jump. I knew for sure that I hadn't left my window open. I sat up, glaring at the offending window. Sneh had probably 'gone for a walk'. She had been gone for a while, judging by the size of the wet patch at the foot of the bed where the rain had come in (NOT where I pissed/cummed myself). Now I was awake, I knew I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, so I stared vacantly out of the window, daydreaming about Bella in _my _arms, sighing _my_ name.

I realised with a jolt that there was a figure jogging across the rapidly brightening ground and I recognised Sneh by her long hair, waving rapidly in the wind. She didn't notice me at all until she had come in through the window and landed practically on top of me.

"Sneh! Where have you been? I was so worried!" I admonished. She didn't have to know that I hadn't given her a second thought when Bella had occupied my mind.

"Um…" she stalled guiltily. I knew instinctively that the next words to come out of her mouth would be a lie. "I went for a walk because I couldn't sleep. Damn insomnia!" I gave her a look, and she I knew that I knew she was lying. I also knew that whatever she was lying about, she wasn't going to tell me.

"Breakfast, Jake?" she sang, breaking the guilty silence.

"Sure…" I was trying to figure out what she would be lying about. I was looking absentmindedly out of the window when I caught sight of three figures in the distance, looking distinctly at the house. My body stiffened and Sneh looked up guiltily. She opened her mouth to speak, but I interrupted.

"I don't mind where you went, honey, I'm just worried about how fricking cold you are! Go have a hot shower, pancakes can wait. I'm not hungry anyway." I grimaced as my stomach gurgled loudly, ruining my attempt at nonchalance. She grinned at the sound and pulled away from my embrace, heading for the kitchen.

"I'll cook, then shower while you eat," she called. Well, if she really wanted to make me pancakes, I wasn't complaining.

My eyes wandered back to the window of their own accord, scanning the thick forest that surrounded the house. They widened in outrage as I saw the three boys were still there, closer now, just within the protective shadow of the trees. What the fuck? They had no right to come here! And what were they doing so early in the morning?

I raised my middle finger at them, hoping they would get the message and fuck off, but to no avail. I watched their expressions intently in the growing light of the morning, hoping to glean information as to why they were here. Sam stared back coolly, his eyes betraying no hint of emotion, as if challenging me to confront him. Jared's eyes were trained on the window of the kitchen and his face looked worried, but almost resigned. Paul was looking at me too, with a superior grin on his face and a taunting light in his eyes. I gritted my teeth and my hands balled into fists. I stood up abruptly, ready to go and shove Paul's head even further up his arse than it already was (if that was even humanly possible), but when my eyes refocused on the spot where they had been standing, it was empty.

SPOV

I jumped, startled, as Jake burst into the room, but luckily managed to stop the pan from falling off the hob through nothing but pure skill. I was about to announce the fact, but I stopped as I processed the furious expression on his face. My breathing started to accelerate as his hands began to shake.

"Those fucking perverts were watching the house again! How dare they? It pisses me off when they stare at me, but Jared was watching _you_! What a paedophilic little creep, and…" he exploded. I stared at him blankly for a moment until I deciphered what he was saying, then I hurried to calm him down.

"Woah, Jake, cool it. It's OK, calm down." I said breathlessly, getting rather flustered in my attempts to make sure there wasn't another repeat of the 'Paul incident'. Emily had told me that Jake, Quil and Embry were all approaching the age where getting pissed off could trigger the wolfie gene, and I was _not_ letting that happen on my watch.

I hadn't even realised he had grabbed the tops of my arms until the pressure became too much for me. I could feel my bones protesting in his too-tight grip; his too-big hands overlapping around them. He was trembling, the tremors passing through his hands and rocking my entire frame so hard I could almost hear my skeleton rattling.

"Jake stop! You're hu…hurting me," I stuttered, allowing some of the panic I felt to leak through into my voice, "Jake!" I half-yelled, the pitch of my voice rising with worry.

Suddenly his hands were gone and abruptly, everything was still. His eyes processed the remnants of the panic on my face, and his own twisted with guilt.

"God, Sneh! I'm so sorry! I don't know what happened! I mean, I just lost it! I'm sorry! Oh God, look at your arms! I'm sorry..." I lost focus on his half-formed apologies as I caught sight of my arms. Huge red handprints wrapped all the way around them, and I knew they'd be black and blue by tomorrow. I'd have to wear long sleeves to cover them up…

I looked up as I realised Jake had stopped talking. He was looking at me, worry in his eyes at my neglecting to respond to his little speech.

"It's OK Jake, honestly. I'm fine. I've had worse. Come on, have these pancakes before they get cold." He looked at me doubtfully, but didn't object.

"I'm gonna go grab a shower. See you in a few." I dashed out of the room before he could protest. I needed to compose myself from the shock of Jake almost 'phasing' (as Emily had told me it was called) on me. I grabbed Jake's wash bag from his room and locked myself in the bathroom. I glanced at myself in the mirror and winced. I looked a complete mess. Jake must have been seriously worried about me not to have made a comment about the state of my hair.

I stripped off quickly, giving myself a quick once over. Most of the bruises were fading, only Jake's ones and one other which stretched from my hip bone to the opposite shoulder across my front were more prominent.

I stepped into the shower quickly, allowing the hot water to soothe me. I loved showering at Jake's. it hair products smelt amazing, the scent of them would cling to my mane all day, so I could smell him wherever I went. I let the familiar scent wash over me and I sighed.

Feeling a lot more like myself again, I stepped out of the shower and wrapped one of Jake's huge towels around me. I dressed quickly in the same clothes I had worn the night before, and rolled my hair up in the towel. I rummaged through Jake's drawers, looking for his crappy little hairdryer. I laughed out loud when I came across the as of yet still unopened box of condoms Quil had given him for his thirteenth birthday. Ah, good times…

"Jake! What have I told you about putting things back where they belong! Where's the hairdryer?"

"Uh…" he lumbered out of the kitchen, still chewing the last mouthful of pancake. He reached assuredly into one of the many piles of junk littering his floor. His hand searched, but to no avail. A look of intense confusion crossed his face.

"I coulda sworn I put it…"

"Which is why you should put it back in your drawer so you can always find it ," I interrupted smugly.

"Why'd you need to dry your hair anyway? It'll dry naturally,"

"…eventually. And walking around with a wet patch from my ass to my knees is _not _an attractive look."

"Point taken," he agreed hiding a smirk, no doubt because he was imagining said wet patch, and he continued to rummage through his piles of shit.

"Aha! Found it!" he yelled triumphantly, brandishing the hairdryer in the air. I looked at him pointedly until he stopped his little victory dance. I looked up to the hairdryer, where he was holding it way above his head, then back down to his face, where a slow smile was forming.

"Come and get it," he taunted in response to my unasked question. I sighed theatrically and plopped down on his bed with my hand held out. He grinned impishly, but didn't move.

I let out a short growl and stood up on the bed. I gauged the distance: I still wasn't tall enough to reach it. I hooked my fingers over the top of his wardrobe and, using the handles as footholds, heaved myself up onto the top of it. Jake looked at me incredulously as I leaned precariously forward and snatched the hairdryer out of his hand.

Inevitably, though, the change in weight tipped the balance and I fell. The ground was coming towards me ridiculously fast, and I resigned myself to gaining a few more bruises.

All of a sudden, I smacked into something that was too high up to be the ground. The air rushed out of my lungs and I gasped for breath.

JPOV

Lightening fast reactions which I didn't even know I had took over as soon as I saw Sneh lose her balance. I was in place, ready to catch her almost before she fell. She landed safely in my arms and I breathed a sigh of relief. I looked at her exasperatedly.

"What are we going to do with you?" I teased, whilst trying to figure out the expression in her eyes. Shock, fear and… confusion? "Sneh, what…"

"Jake, you got over here _really_ fast. How…oh my god, are you feeling alright? You don't feel weird or anything do you?" She waited apprehensively for my reply. Why would _I_ feel weird? Nothing happened to _me_.

"I'm fine… I'm just worried about _you_. I didn't hurt you when I caught you did I?" I already felt guilty enough about losing it earlier; I didn't want to have hurt her again.

She shook her head, but winced as she twisted in my grip. She braced her hands against my chest, not allowing her body to relax. Soon her muscles were trembling with the effort. I sat down gently on the bed, not wanting to jostle her, and slowly released my hold on her so she could sit beside me on the bed. She began to curl herself into a ball like she always did when she was a bit freaked out, but as she bent her torso, she gasped and hurriedly straightened out again.

I internally kicked myself for not softening her landing with something.

"Sneh," I began tentatively, "can I … have a look? Make sure you haven't fractured a rib or something?" I winced at the thought.

She opened her mouth to protest, but the worry in my eyes made her close it again and mutely nod her head. I probed her ribs as gently as I could through her shirt. I could see how much effort it took her not to cry out or cringe away from my hand. Her heart rate picked up speed and I glanced up at her face anxiously.

"Sneh, are you OK?" she blushed and nodded again, looking down at the bed. My forehead creased as I tried to figure out what triggered the blush, but I gave up. Girls will be girls, and guys don't have a prayer at understanding them.

"I don't think anything's broken, but I think there's some serious bruising. Can I…" I'd let her refuse me this if she wanted, I told myself, but it was unnecessary because she nodded immediately. Suddenly apprehensive as to what I would find, I reached for the hem of her shirt, lifted it slowly, and gasped. Sneh looked up, curious, but all of a sudden, like a switch had been flicked, her expression changed to one of pure panic. I stared speechlessly for a minute at the huge bruise, the black and blue skin stretching from her hip to up under her top, past where I dared to lift it.

My guilt went into spiral mode. I was shocked to find tears pricking at the corners of my eyes and I blinked them angrily away. How could I have hurt her? I'm supposed to be her friend. Friends don't hurt each other.

"Jake!" Sneh yelled, fiercely brushing at the tears that had escaped, "Jake, that wasn't you!"

I looked at her incredulously, then continued to internally beat myself up. I couldn't even form coherent thoughts any more, I just wallowed in the pain. All I could see in my mind's eye was that huge bruise. I didn't react when Sneh put her arms around me and hugged my head to her chest, burying her face in my hair and stroking my back. She was talking, but I didn't even try to listen.

I just closed my eyes and let the guilt reign.

**REVIEW PEOPLE...please?**

**BIG ****love and ****HUGE**** apologies for how late this chapter was = (**

**Ps, sorry bout the random black lines…my computer fucked up…=/**

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	6. Chapter 6: Comfort

**I'm baaaaaaaaaack! Whoop whoop!**

**I'm SOO sorry bout how long this took (again) … basically I'm a shite and very slow writer and I apologise for that!**

**Thank you SOOOOO much to x0starstruckgurl0x for making me write this chappie!**

**And everyone else…thanks for NO REVIEWS on the last chapter =/**

**Basics, Kate and Samantha are my two incredible best friends (you know who you are) who've both helped me immensely with this story…LOVE TO YOU BOTH!**

SPOV

I couldn't say how long we sat there, immobile. Me kneeling on the bed and Jake sitting, clutching each other like it was the end of the world. The tracks of our tears glistening on our faces. I'd shed my fair share of tears too, just seeing him so broken, so helpless. I tried as hard as I could to reassure him that he _hadn't _hurt me, but he hadn't believed my story about falling whilst climbing trees last night.

I heard tires pulling up outside – Charlie Swan's police cruiser. I heard Billy inviting him in, and him politely declining, muttering something about grabbing a Tylenol and a few more hours of sleep. Billy called out to Jacob, but he didn't stir. I could hear Billy's chair with I's squeaky wheel approaching the door and I wandered for a split second if I should do something, before I realised that I didn't care. The door creaked open and he opened his mouth to wake Jake up, but when he caught sight of us, his face lost all the warmth it had, and he stared at me coldly. The wintery silence filled the room for an immeasurable moment.

"I think it would be best for you to leave. Now."

I started in shock, flinching away from the unfriendliness in his resonant voice which was usually so kind.

As I moved, Jake's arms fell from around me and it stung slightly that he didn't care enough to put them back.

I edged around Billy's chair and headed for the door. Never had I felt so unwelcome in a house that I considered more of a home than my own.

I didn't have any tears left, but I felt like I _should _be crying.

After a bit of aimless wandering, the beach wobbling through the tears fighting to escape from my eyes, I ended up back home. I saw the phone flashing. I wasn't going to bother checking the message, until it occurred to me that it might be from Jake. I eagerly dialled the numbers and pressed the phone to my ear. Unfamiliar, high-pitched giggling assaulted my head. I was tempted to hang up after a few seconds, but she started to talk.

"_Hey…uh…Kiowa's sister? ...*gasp*…Kiowa, stop it! Oh! Um… he's gonna be staying with me for… a while…"_

Then the giggling turned to moans and I heard the sound of the phone being thrown on the floor. The message cut off just as whichever one of Kiowa's girlfriends this was, orgasmed.

At least that got one worry off my mind. I wouldn't see Kiowa for a few weeks at least. Hopefully Jake could spend more time here…or…maybe not. Maybe he doesn't want to see me again after this morning.

Suddenly I felt the urge to cry it out with a _girl_. A girl who _knew_ how I was feeling. What I needed to do was to have a good moan, let it all out. Then maybe I'd feel a bit better.

I headed out again. I made a beeline to her house, hoping she's be in, and also hoping that her mom or dad didn't open the door and start questioning my puffy red eyes and the tear tracks on my face.

I knocked on the door, ready to bolt at the first sign of the wrong person opening the door, but I must've lost focus, because when it did open, it was unexpected and made me jump.

"Oh, hey Sneh! Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you…-" I looked up into Seth's warm brown eyes, just in time to see them cloud over with concern. My brain was pretty fried from a lack of sleep and major emotional overload, so Seth's reaction didn't worry me like it should have.

Random thoughts zipped around my brain and suddenly I was disgruntled. Up? Since when had I had to look _up_ to meet Seth's eyes? He was a few months _younger_ than me. He had _no right _to be taller. I guess it's true that boys get their growth spurts after girls… Now I couldn't tease him about being short…or skinny. He was starting to fill out a bit. He reminded me of Jake at this age, slowly turning from a boy to a man…

The pain of even thinking about Jake snapped me out of my thought shower to see Seth staring at me, waiting for an answer to a question I hadn't heard.

"Uh, I'm fine. Is Leah in?"

He looked at me strangely for a moment, then grudgingly replied, "Yeah. She's in her room with her 'new friends'," he made quotation marks in the air as he spoke. The shock of his reply snapped me right out of my 'out of it' state.

"Friends?" I exploded, both happy and surprised, "She has new friends?"

"Sure, go see for yourself" Seth motioned me up the stairs, now eyeing me furtively like I was mentally unstable. I couldn't help laughing at his expression, and once I'd started, I couldn't stop. I was _seriously_ slap happy. Seth's expression escalated and tears started rolling down my cheeks from how hard I was laughing. Hmmm, maybe I _was_ mentally unstable…that would be cool…I could do what I wanted and nobody could say anything because that'd be discrimination…

Abruptly I was exhausted and the laughter stopped. Without another word, I trudged up the stairs in the house more familiar to me than my own, Seth staring after me the whole way.

I suddenly realised that there was music blasting from Leah's room – whiny rock songs and squealing voices got louder with every step I took. Curious about her new friends, I pushed the door open. Evidence of a standard girly sleepover was littered about the room: a spare mattress and pillows on the floor; _all_ of Leah's clothes and shoes strewn around the room, having been tried on at least three times each; make up _everywhere_ and a pile of chick flicks by her laptop in the corner.

Leah was sat on her bed in her pyjamas, squashed between two other girls, who were attacking her hair, one with a brush and the other with curling tongs.

Leah had _definitely_ made some new friends.

"Uh…Hey Leah. How are you?" I yelled over the music.

"Sneh!" she squealed…whoa, Leah … _squealed_? That was a first.

"This is Kate," she said, gesturing to the girl on her left. She had gorgeous chocolate brown hair, waving gently to the centre of her back.

"And this is Samantha," she continued, pointing to the other girl with striking auburn hair and an infectious smile. They both waved.

"Hey guys, I'm Sneh-" I started, but I was cut off by a shriek from Kate.

"OhMyGodLookAtYourHAIR! Can we curl it? Pleease?"

"Um…sure, I guess…" I sighed and settled myself in for a long wait until I could talk to Leah properly.

Kate and Samantha were such sweet girls. They were both far too loud for the headache slowly throbbing its way through my skull, but other than that, I liked them. I couldn't stop myself from grinning randomly at the sight of Leah _happy,_ Leah with _friends. _Leah like she was _before_ Sam broke her heart. Hopefully this was the first step of her moving on; rebuilding her life; trying to fix her shattered heart.

I hadn't seen Leah smile in…forever. Apart from those sad little smiles of gratitude she would give me through her tears. Gratitude for staying, even when she screamed at me to leave. Gratitude for understanding that her bitchiness was an act, and that underneath the mask, she was just as hurt as any girl who'd had her heart broken along with a million promises…

I think I must've fallen asleep, because Kate had to shake me awake to look at my new hairdo. Wow, it looked nice, and… wow, I looked bad. My eyes had huge bags under them from sleep deprivation, and they were red rimmed from crying. My mouth was turned down in a subconscious frown. I felt awful too. My migraine was _killing _me and the whole of my front throbbed painfully. The muscles in my legs were starting to ache from all the running and walking I'd done last night and this morning.

I was close to my breaking point. I shot a desperate glance at Leah, whose face responded with immediate concern.

"My hair looks…really great," I said, hoping my voice didn't sound too off, "thanks -"

"Oh guys! What time did you say you had to meet Eric and Lee? Was it half two? You'd better be on your way… and make sure you call me so we can meet up again!" Leah showed them out while I sat there and let some tears streak down my face. Apparently I _hadn't _run out.

Leah's arms around me made me jump, and she stroked my shoulders soothingly.

"So…" she said, working to make her tone light and teasing, "how was your sleepover with Jake?"

That was her way of showing me that she wanted to know what had happened, but she understood and respected my privacy enough not to push me.

"Well, it went well at first… I cooked, we watched a film-"

"Were you sitting on his laps?"

"I was for a bit, then his head was on my laps… then he carried me to bed-"

"Aww, that's so sweet! He definitely has a thing for you!"

"No," I replied morosely, with absolute certainty in my voice, "He sees me as a sister, and he fancies Charlie's daughter. Anyway, I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk in the forest-"

"As you do,"

"-and, uh…I sorta fell while I was climbing. And then when I got back he was really worried about me, which was nice. Then I made pancakes, but Jake saw S…Paul and Jared watching the house…" I saw Leah's face fill with agony for a brief second at the name I'd purposefully omitted, before hardening. I hurried on with my story.

"Um…Jake got really pissed…I mean REALLY pissed-"

"What did he do? Hit them?"

"No, not _them_ exactly…" I replied evasively.

"He hit YOU?" she exploded.

"No, no, he didn't hit me as such…" I said, avoiding her eyes and the accusations against the man I loved I knew I would see there.

"What. Did. He. Do?"

I slipped my sleeve off my shoulder and showed her the purple-blue hand print there.

"It's not as bad as you think," I rushed, before she could talk, "he just grabbed me, but when I told him it hurt, he let go…but that wasn't the point of the story. I…I fell again…I was being stupid, trying to get the hairdryer off him…I climbed onto his wardrobe and…uh…fell off the top…but he caught me!" I exclaimed in response to the panicked look on her face. "His arm was damn hard though, and it sorta hurt my bruises from before and he was so upset…"

I felt the tears well in my eyes at just the memory of his anguish. I was in my own little world, so Leah's vice startled me.

"It was Kiowa, wasn't it?"

"Huh?" I said, feigning innocence.

"You told me it was only that one time. You said he wouldn't do it again-"

"It _was _only that one time…and this time. He didn't do it on purpose…it was my fault. I was being stupid; you know what his temper's like-"

"Stop defending him! How dare you defend him after what he did to you, to me, to the both of us?"

**Ooooooooooh! Suspenseness!**

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**JSC**

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